New Anthology - order now

On Wed Oct 17th, 6-7:30pm. At Sleuth of Baker Street bookstore, the launch of a very special anthology will take place. Along with Maureen here are some of the other writers who have contributed stories, Peter Robinson, Linwood Barclay, Rosemary Aubert, Peter Sellers, Lyn Hamilton, Ed Hoch and many others.
Here's the rub from Maureen's perspective, she was commisioned to write this story last year and asked to contribute a Murdoch short story. She has never written a Murdoch short story, only novels for Murdoch, so she took a unique approach. We visited Halifax last October and she fell in love with the seaside there and Peggy's Cove. Lots of seaside lore filled with ship wrecks, the Halifax explosion and Canadian history.
So in this anthology there is a story about Murdoch as a boy growing up in Nova Scotia, a shipwreck, a dead body, a crime, and a priest. And of course a solution. I love this story.
IF you want a signed copy of the anthology, signed also by many of the authors on the night of the launch, email Sleuth of Baker at the details I have listed below and reserve a copy in advance. Ask them to have Maureen inscribe it to you as well, she would be happy to do it.
This will be the only chance for you to get this anthology signed by many of the authors and it will truly be a collectors item.
Here's all of Sleuth's details
1600 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4G 3B7
tel: 416-483-3111 fax 416-483-3141, e-mail sleuthbooks@sympatico.ca
http://www.sleuthofbakerstreet.com

Block 5 starts today

Eight episodes in the can. Yesterday they filmed the final scenes from Block 4 which was Childs Play and The Glass Ceiling. thank goodness they were inside a bar all day as it was soooo hot. Block 5 is two more episodes, Power which is about electricity, and Belly Speaker, another episode with an appearance of Arthur Conan Doyle. We're very thrilled that Dimitry Chepovetsky is in the show Power. He was just nominated for a Gemini award for his role in Regenesis as one of the scientists. Guess what character he plays in Power? An inventor.
Here's Dimitry's latest accomplishments aside from his ongoing part in Regenesis:
He has appeared in several feature films including I'll Be Home For Christmas , Mission to Mars starring Gary Sinese and Tim Robbins, A Chain of Fools starring Jeff Goldblum and Selma Heyak, and Lucky Number Sleven with Bruce Willis. Most recently he completed shooting a feature film Man of the Year starring Robin Williams.
We're delighted to have him in an episode. of The Murdoch Mysteries.

Shaftesbury Films get 42 Gemini Nominations

This is Chirstina Jennings and Maureen with Christina last year at The Magna Cum Murder Conference that was held in Muncie Indiana in associtation wiht Ball State University. We screened Except The Dying for the conference as most American Mystery Fans had not seen the show. Chrstina agreed to come along with us and she was involvved in lots of q and a and the whole conference which also featured many of the attendees reading the novel.
Shaftesbury Films have just received 42 Gemini nominations ( Canada's Emmy Awards) for shows aired this past year that they have produced. If you go to their website http://www.shaftesbury.org

you can see the list. We are thrilled and delighted for them as they are the producer of the new series. Christina, along with Scott Garvie the vice president, bought the rights to the Murdoch series in 2000. We went through a negotiation which resulted in our association at the time with a small Torotno producer. We believed in them, we believed they were going places and we hitched our star to their wagon. It was a gut instinct that we both had at the time, and it was the right decision. Now look at their company, we guessed right. They are fast becoming the biggest producer of Canadian made television programming, respected all over the world, with lots of broadcasters who now come knocking at their door. Congrats to all our friends at Shaftesbury today, they deserve it and we love them.

Another Photo who is . . .

Graham Markham, the son of a very good friend who is a huge fan of Maureen's, Janet Markham and Ian Markham.

Another web site that is devoted to . . .

http://www.dundurn.com/dymk/index.html

I did all the photos and I would love some feedback on this
thanks

I got official Murdoch TV photos today - go look

Link to Maureen's website and look under the TV series link. Go to the middle and scroll through the four official images I received. They are stunning. Use the scroll bar to see them. I LOVE THEM!!! They were all shot by my friend Steve Wilkie, and all the photos are property of Shaftesbury Films, they are copyrighted.
Thanks

Some of my work

I shot this model in the studio and I used something called a Mola lighting system with a pro photo pack. I was going through some of my catalogue and I worked on these today. Cropped and slightly adjusted. She was a great model to work with and I love shooting in the studio. enjoy, we are watching the boxing episode tonight, I shall report back.

Maureen's new web page is up

Check out
http://www.maureenjennings.com

Let me know any problems you have. THANKS!!!!!!!!

Sunday Bloody Sunday

When are in you need of "blood spatter"? Or a dab here or there? Oh, just get a job working on a murder mystery show and get involved in the direction of a show. Sit in a black tent with two monitiors, it was 90 degrees faranheit on Friday, and then look at a scene that requires a victim. You might look in the monitor and say "MORE BLOOD PLEASE!!". IF that does not work there is always post production, but as a photographer, you want to get it right when you take your shots. Post production is usually more for effects that you cannot directly film. CSI is filled with post productiiom, our show will have lots of post as well, but won't get too far away from what they are actually fimling on the set.
This location and episode is about a glue factory in the series, and you can see Maureen with some of the xtras. The boys are just terrific in this episode as "home children were used as workers in the late 1800's". So the show authentic in its historical detail. But children were used to make money for the families that were poor. There was no social safety net or welfare in those days.
The series is on the road til Tuesday when they come back for the final studio scenes of the currrent block of episodes. Then there will be three blocks left to shoot, a total of 5 more episodes. John Lecuyer, the director on Under The Dragons Tail, is coming in after the next block which will be handled by Farhad Mann. It will be great to see John and have him working on Murdoch again. Oddly enough he is at the moment working on Regenesis which starts Peter Outerbridge, our first Murdoch. So it will be fun for him to work with Yannick as John will have been the only director on this series who has both a series credit and a movie of the week credit. Looking forward to it.

What's a nice woman like this doing on a bloody film set????

You know if you meet my wife you will meet one of the nicest and kindest people I have ever known. It always surprises many folks who read her novels and then meet Maureen. They are suprised by how such a nice person can write books that have very bloody results. But I will hand it to her, she is a compassionate person and she peoples her novels with characters who have a great deal of humanity in them, with the exception of the villians of course. But that is what makes William Murdoch such a likeable guy. He cares for the human race. And in this television series, the same is true for our Detective Murdoch. A compassionate man with a big heart and tough as hell when he has to be. We were at the Cotton Factory today and you can see by the size of the chimney, it is a rather awesome place. Oh, yours truly seems to be in the eye of Rumani, or at least her sunglasses. And knowing how lovely Rumani is, I have no doubt she will not be crazy about this photo, but I like the fact that my refection showed up in her glasses. Kind of a neat effect given I was using a little point and shoot camera. Rumani is on the set all day and night everday as she is one of two stand-ins. I got more for you but I am going to bed now.

From the Cambridge Times

Photos by Melissa Hancock
It was quiet on the set Wednesday in Cambridge as filming of Chum Television's The Murdoch Mysteries took place. Based on the mystery novels by Maureen Jennings that are set in 1895 Toronto, 13 one-hour episodes will begin airing some time in 2008. The production company, Shaftsbury Films, is also doing filming in Hamilton. The crew utilized the "Dobbie mansion" on Blenheim Road for a couple of scenes, where several passersby stopped to see the film crew and actors in their period costumes at work.
Clockwise, from top left: Producer Peter Meyboom (left) and actor Yannick Bisson, from the TV show Sue Thomas F.B. Eye, and who stars as Det. William Murdoch, chat before taking a lunch break between takes.

The crew had to make a few changes to the outside of the Blenheim Road mansion, according to Debbie Fee, the city's special projects co-ordinator.

Former Coronation Street actor Tom Craig took a break from filming to speak with the Times. After a few takes in a scene where he gets stabbed, he said he enjoys the role he's taken on in this series. Craig acts as Insp. Brackenreid, Murdoch's boss.

From the Waterloo Record today

KEVIN SWAYZE
RECORD STAFF
CAMBRIDGE

History came to life this week when a movie crew moved into the Dobbie mansion to recreate 1895 Toronto.

Parts of the new Murdoch Mysteries TV series were filmed Wednesday and yesterday at the intersection of Blair and Blenheim roads, in one of the oldest Cambridge neighbourhoods.

The many immaculate 19th-century homes of west Galt impressed director Shawn Alex Thompson.

"Just walking down the street, we could have used any one of them," he said. "This is a gold mine for these kind of things."

It's easy for movie crews to find old houses for exterior shots, he said. What made things easier in Cambridge was the interior of the Dobbie house, which is mostly unchanged from when it was built 150 years ago.

Victorian period furniture was moved into three rooms for interior scenes.

Murdoch Mysteries is based on a series of crime novels by Maureen Jennings.


The stories revolve around a Toronto detective who faces ridicule while using nascent forensic investigation techniques -- like collecting fingerprints -- to solve murders.

Three 90-minute movies sold well around the world, so CHUM television hired Shaftesbury Films to turn it into a television series.

Think Sherlock Homes meets CSI on the tough streets of Victorian-era Toronto.

The series stars Yannick Bisson as handsome young detective William Murdoch. He's previously acted in Sue Thomas F. B. Eye. His boss, Insp. Brackenreid, is played by Thomas Craig of Coronation Street.

Filming started in June at a Toronto studio and locations in and around Hamilton. Shooting wraps up in mid-October.

The 13 hour-long episodes will be ready in early 2008, but a Canadian broadcaster hasn't been settled yet, publicist Sue Baldaro said.

Scenes for two episodes were filmed in Cambridge.

Dobbie house stood in for the home of an upper-class family whose patriarch was murdered. One room was also used as the office of a glue factory in an episode where a killer stalked investigators.

The house across the street, owned by Neil Ostlund, stood in for exterior views of the glue factory and for the entrance of a home for children shipped to Toronto from England to work.

Sarah MacNeil, 13, patiently waited on the Blair Road sidewalk this week, hoping for some of the stardust to rub off, although most crew members were just standing around.

What did she learn?

"Since they aren't doing anything -- nothing," said Sarah, who wants to be an actor.

Realtor Tony Monteiro arranged details to bring the movie crew to the Dobbie house, which he's been hired to sell, and 16 Blenhei\m Rd., across the street. He wouldn't reveal how much it cost to rent the houses but said the publicity won't hurt his sales effort.

"This is too much fun," he said between snapping pictures and answering his BlackBerry.

"It takes me away from something that might make me some money."

Dobbie house, as it is best known to locals, was built in 1857 by lawyer John Miller and named The Cedars. In 1868, it was sold to the Ball family. In 1903, it was sold for $6,000 to William Wilkinson, a dry goods merchant. In 1929, textile mill owner George Dobbie purchased the house for $19,000. It was purchased a few years ago by Alan and Ann Jones.

Today, Monteiro has the building listed for $1.9 million.

It cost Shaftesbury Films $29.40 for a special occasion permit from the city to use the locations for a movie shoot, said Debbie Fee, the city's special projects officer.

The company also had to post a $5,000 bond and show proof of $2-million liability insurance coverage.

The production crew came mostly from Toronto, but City of Cambridge crews were hired to remove some street signs and replace them afterwards. Off-duty police were hired for traffic control on Blenheim and Blair roads, so cars and trucks didn't rumble by as cameras rolled. The lunchroom of the University of Waterloo school of architecture was rented so caterers could feed the movie crew of 75.

The last movie shot in town was a television production telling the life story of singer Céline Dion, made earlier this summer. A key scene involved burning down a building. For this, a condemned, rural home given to the Cambridge Fire Department for training went out in a blaze of glory with cameras rolling.

Fee doesn't know of any other movie crews planning to come to town but she's usually the last to know.

"There's always calls and interest, but they never make a decision until the last minute."

We're off to the Cotton Factory today

So we made a snap decision as there are going to be hundreds on the set today at the old Cotton Factory on Sherman Avenue in Hamilton today for scenes from Child's Play. A number of the crew and cast stayed overnight at a Hamilton hotel as they finished scenes they did in Cambridge. Maureen and I are going out there about 1:00 today. What fun, and I hope to have some photos for you. Lots of publicity being done today. the buzz is back.
Here is a brief synopsis of the history of the factory:
"The Imperial Cotton Centre for the Arts is located in the former Imperial Cotton factory. Built in 1900, as one of the first textile mills in Hamilton's early industrial history, the factory produced cotton tarps, tents, vehicle covers, and was a major production hub for military applications for WWI and WWII. The property served this function until the early 1980s when it was converted into a children's clothing manufacturer (Beauty Industries) and mixed industrial use property. In 2001, Beauty Industries closed its doors leaving the property approximately 80% vacant. The buildings form one of the most complete historic textile mill complexes in Canada. The complex has 5 main buildings, with more than 150,000 SF of mixed use floor space. "
If you want to read more about this link here http://www.imperialcottoncentre.com/

Bikes and second cuts

Went over to the bike shop today to look at Mountain bikes on the recommendation of "the actor who wears Nike shoes around the set". He suggested a shop called Cycle Solutions in the east end of Toronto, and I rode in on my road bike like I was coming into the corral so to speak. The problem for me is that I do not have the budget at the moment for another bike, one that I would just use occassionally, so I may rely on a freind who runs a travel/bike tour company who can get me a bike at cost, I would have to assemble it. So this biking thing on all terrain may have to wait until the spring because Nikon just released news today about their full frame cameras, and I would rather upgrade my camera at the moment. So that is where I am at with the trail biking thing. Let's see what my friend from the travel company can do for me. I know, you would all love me to tell you about mountain biking with Detective Murdoch eh??? Those modern bikes I put up here, are the kind Detective Murdoch likes to ride when he is not riding the period bike I show you here.
We have not yet received the 4th episode yet, but we did receieve the "broadcasters cut" of Let Loose the Dogs last night and it has changed a bit from the first cut we saw. There are more scenes in the newer cut which had some changes made at the request of Garanda and the broadcaster. It is even better, and I can say that the adaptation of Let Loose the Dogs is now Maureen and my favourite of the adaptations as this one is so much in the emotion of the novel and that is because it has a lot of heart to the story. Those of you who have read Let Loose are in for a wonderful treat. It is much shorter than the novel, but it stays true to the theme of the novel. And the script was written to the strength of our lead actor, a man who has a huge heart and knows how to express it on the screen. We are so happy with all this. But I want to see more episodes so perhaps we will tonight.
Happy biking and oh thanks ever so much for everybody's enthusiasm for the novels, both Maureen and I appreciate it and I know it is because you are loving the story of Detective Murdoch.

Shift Gears/Shift set

Where do I start today. I am back at work and it is interfering with the flow of creating a website. So I worked till 11 pm on the site last nigt and I think I might have it done by the end of tomorrow. I really stripped it down from the web page Maureen has up right now, and I think it will be better. I am trying to get some official images to post on the site from the series, but I have to wait, so they will get added later.
We are still waiting for the cut of Knockdown, episode 105, but I think it may come today. I did go over to the set yesterday and delivered the wine to the writers. While I was there I got a chance to mee the director of the next two episodes, Farhad Mann. He is in prep right now for "Power" and "Belly Speaker" which go into production in about two weeks. They are on day 8 of 13 shooting days for THe Glass Ceiling and Child's Play and as you recall, the crew has moved to Cambridge for the rest of the week. It's kind of like the circus comes to town, as there is a lot of media planned today. But I will post the details and results of the media once I know more, and I will know more at the end of the day.
I had a great talk with the writers yesterday and they are working on the outlines for the final three episodes. They sound exciting and I can't wait to read the scripts.
So I biked over to the actual set as the writers are in the offices, and said hello to lots of folks, and the actor who wears Nike's was there and we had a rather intense discussion about bikes. He looks great and tan, and was in a different suit from the suit I have seen him wear in previous episodes. I thnk he has 5 different suits for the show, which I believe is a good idea. It shows a different look for the episodes. After about a 5 minute discussion, the handlers took hm back on set. Biking to be continued.
I might be back late today with any media news I receive.

Oldest corner of west Galt becoming scene for movie

From the Waterloo Record this morning:
CAMBRIDGE

Two homes in the oldest corner of west Galt will become part of 1895 Toronto during a movie shoot planned tomorrow and Thursday.
As well, Blair Road between Blenheim and Parkhill roads will close intermittently for exterior filming of The Murdoch Mysteries, said Debbie Fee, the city's special projects officer.
The made-for-TV crime mystery series is produced by Toronto-based Shaftesbury Films, and airs on Bravo and City-TV. It's based on Victorian-themed crime novels by Maureen Jennings. "It's a period piece," Fee said.
The crime series is described as Sherlock homes meets CSI. Investigator William Murdoch uses nascent forensic investigation techniques, like fingerprinting, to solve cases.
Cambridge was picked for location filming because members of the crew members had worked on other productions in town, she said.

Body Double arrived ep 103

Max came by today with our cut of the third episode, tomorrow we get the fourth episode, Knockdown. Max was raving about Knockdown which is about boxing, Body Double is about the theatre.
I did not go to the set today because what I was going to pick up got mailed to us, so I am going in the morning after I teach class at Mayfair Lakeshore. The club is just three blocks from the set if you can believe it.
So I will be delivering wine and cider in the morning to writers, and as I will be on my bikek I will drop over and see my friend with the Nike's. I don't think he has seen my road bike, but only if he is not in the middle of a scene.
Anyway, I'm off to cook dinner, have a beer and watch Murdoch TV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rode 100K today on my bike

I decided to go on the "Donut Ride" today, which is a Toronto tradition for cyclists since 1977, you can read about it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Donut_Ride. This is not an ordinary bike ride, after 1 hour of warming up at a relatively tepid pace of 30k/hr, the elite riders kick it and create a pelliton that moves between 40-50 kiloneters per hour through the country as we get out of the city pretty fast. We are peddling at about 90 rpm in the biggest gear on our bikes. I had not done the ride since last year, but while I was in Prince Edward County I did 4 long rides so I was ready for a big ride. Well I was surprised to say that I stayed with the main group for most of the ride today and I was not wasted at the end. I left the house at 8:30 am, and finished at 12:30. We stop halfway for a snack and coffee, I quaffed a Coca Cola which is loaded with sugar and caffeine. Would that get me disqualified? I was an animal on the way home and we again rode between 40 and 60K because of the downhills. Wild stuff eh? I am happy I did so well today.
One of the actors on the show rides and he invited me to go with him. He likes to ride a trail bike. So I either have to get a trail bike or borrow one. A bit more treacherous as you go on trails and through the woods cross country. Could be fun. I am an addicted rider and runner. Oh yeah the actor who invited me wears Nike shoes around alot. Let's see if we can get together. I am going to the set tomorrow to deliver wine and cider, I hope to get lots of news, but let's see how everybody's doing.
More tomorrow.

Dog and Butterfly

We took the dogs, that's Jeremy Brett our Border Collie, for a walk yesterday so I could shoot Wild Turkeys. No WIld turkey were around, but the Monarch butterly seemed to be in mating season. So I put my camera on continuous and shot with my super huge zoom lens. The thing fires like a machine gun. So I got a few shots eh?
We packed up this morning and drove home, unpacked, our sitter decided to let all the back yard dry out and get over grown so I attacked the yard, watered it, and it seems back to normal.
I am going on a long bike ride tomorrow and on Monday, we are back to our usual. There will be lots of Murdoch news for you this week.
Looks like Journeyman to Grief, on the coat tails of the ad I showed you, is selling very well accross this city and is on the bestseller list of the Indidgo Chapters at Bloor Street. They are sold out, which kind of pisses me off because they should stock more of the title than they do. But don't think me negative, I just think the chains do not manage their stock well for an author. Certain locations sell more of Maureen's books, yet they stock the same amount in the locations that do not sell as many. Makes no sense to me. But I am very happy the book is doing well, it is a great read, you agree??

Web page re-design coming

These are two buttons I created for Maureen's web site which is undergoing a complete re-design. When you roll over the first on on the new web page, the second one appears with a beam of light coming out of the lamp. I cannot create that effect here but I thought I would show you and when I re - publish her new site, I will announce it here.
I am in school studying both photography and web page design. Ultimately I will be able to produce state of the art websites, but for now they will be basic dreamweaver sites. Still fun with lots of buttons and pop up boxes full of neat Murdoch stuff.
We have one more day here and we are going to look at property tomorrow. We really like it here in Prince Edward County and perhaps next year we can get some waterfront property without having to rent year after year. Let's see but I can operate as a photographer anywhere, even if we spend a few month of the year out here. Our life requires that we be in Toronto for the next few years while tv series are being produced. But for now a nice vacation retreat would be so cooooooool.
They are shooting in Hamilton next week and looks like some really long days and nights coming up becuase they are offering to put the crew up in a hotel overnight next week. Maureen will be going back to the set next week and I will be dropping by to deliver wine and cider.

Question re the continued adaptation of the novels

A question was asked on the previous post and I thought it worth expanding upon.
The question was are they planning on continuing where the movies of the week left off and continue with the adaptations of Maureen's novels. This, by the way, is a very very perceptive question which posed a major dilemma for the writers of the series. In fact the idea around the story arc for thirteen episodes underwent three major changes of thought and direction over the past 18 months. Then Mr. Cal Coons came along and was appointed executive producer at the beginning of the year and he is in charge of the storyline and writing. He felt that the series should continue along the timeline and chronology that they had left off with the movies of the week adaptation of the novels. So all the characters remain ths same, it's just the players who changed. And this is where we are and this is the direction the series is headed. So if you view the movies of the week, then you see the series, there are no unanswered questions, you know who is who.

The answer re the books is that they plan to shoot a novel per year starting with Let Loose The Dogs. They have done the first three novels as you know, so they do Let Loose this year, Nights Child next, Vices after that, then A Journeyman to Grief. IF there is a 5th season there will be another Murdoch book for them to do.
The original plan was to create 13 orininal episodes, but the producer and broadcaster felt it would be a good idea to continue with the adaptations as one episode per season. Which means that the books are really edited down to one episode, but in fact it is amazing what they have done with Let Loose the Dogs and we are very happy with the adaptation.

Baco Noir and then some

The bottle of red wine is what we got for one of the writers on the tv series, Alix Zarowney. In fact the area is spelled Waupoos. Maureen and I went driving through Waupoos this morning planning more of her books as seems to be the subject of our trip many mornings when we walk the dogs. On an interesting note we got the "call sheets" last night for the tv series along with some scenes they are going to be shooting for two episodes they have completed already. The team is being so meticulous about making sure each episode is as good as it can be, so they are shooting two more scenes to fit into the episode about boxing. Thank goodness the weather is cooler, I would hate for that stifling heat to hover over the production again, it gets so hot in those Victorian outfits. Not sure when we will go back to the set but I know Maureen will be going to the read through of the next two episodes, probably next week. Casting has probably begun for that set of episodes. Well, enjoy these wine shots, I am going to do more of them tonight because I need to do much better than this. But at least we can call these shots a work in progress.

More scenes from Wolfe Island and more scenes are shooting today

So what was this carriage doing on it's way back to the Scene of the Crime festival on Wolfe Island? As we took the ferry back to Kingston I wondered if we were seeing a moment from our tv series, a weird deja vu at the end of a very long and hot day. It served as a reminder that at 7:30 am this morning, the entire team was back on the set beginning the next three weeks of shooting two more episodes, The Glass Ceiling and Childs Play. Alex Zarowney gets the writing credit for Childs Play and she is a big fan of Wapoos Baco Noir. So after Maureen and I left Picton yesterday where I posted on the blog, we headed over to Wapoos Vineyards which is just about 10 minutes from the cottage. Fantastic, they had lots of Baco Noir which turns out to be a Bronze Medalist wine at the Ontario festival this past year. Lots of people come to Prince Edward County to go on a tasting tour. Ahem, how many wines can you sample in one day and still be standing, or is that the point? I got two bottles of Baco Noir which is terrific, and I tried a white Reisling which was also delicious so I have that as well. But just up from the Wapoos Vineyard is an apple orchard where they also make something called County Cider. So the other writers are getting some of that as a present. Peach, Feral, and plain. Very dry and very very strong. They'll love it as they have two months to go and "seven" more scripts to turn in. Good thing the weather is cooling off a bit as cooler temperatures are easier to work in.
Wonder if they will see Ed Norton on the set. He is working on The Hulk at the moment which is filming next door. Love his acting.
Maureen is back at the cottage right now working on editing the K Handshape. We talked this morning about her next Murdoch novel and she seems very interested in working a story around "foundlings" at the turn of the century. Lots of babies just got turned into churches back in Dickensian days, and she is interested in that story as well as the desire for many adopted or "found' children, when they become adults" to seek out their birth mother and father. Hard to do back then when there were not a lot of records kept. But it was also a much smaller community, a close knit community, so it will be interesting to see what she conjures for an outline, and then writes. It is also possible that she may advance Murdoch's story four years to around the time of the Boer war, and have her series, the books, move into the early 1900's. This would be a departure from the tv series, but she is still thinking about that because the tv series will probably adapt three more of her books after this season, so who knows? I think she will stay with the late 1890's for one more novel, and then jump ahead. Murdoch will not yet be 40 in book time and the technology and times changed so quickly then. Gotta go, back later

Bravo announces - Any Media out there???

This press release just came out so if any of you work for an entertainment paper or media. Contact Bravo to get the inside info on air dates and previews of The Murdoch Mysters tv series. Let us know what you think.

Bravo! Reveals Fall 2007 Premiere Dates

(*) For Bravo!'s fall announcement, schedule grid, high-res photos and a video preview: www.bravo.ca/media


TORONTO, Aug. 9 /CNW/ - Bravo! is pleased to reveal the premiere dates for its fall 2007 programming line-up. From Joni Mitchell and the Alberta Ballet's highly anticipated The Fiddle and The Drum; to Kombat Opera Presents (a series of hilarious operatic interpretations of The Apprentice and Wife Swap); to the new “Murdoch Mysteries series”, to all-new episodes of Inside the Actors Studio - Bravo!'s fall season has something for every creative taste.
For a complete list and detailed information about
Bravo!'s fall 2007 programming, the schedule grid, high-res photos and a video preview, please visit www.bravo.ca/media

For further information: and/or screening copies: Laura Hughes, Publicist, (416) 591-7400 x2746, laurah@bravo.ca; Jennifer C. S. Lo, Director of Communications, (416) 591-7400 x2761, jenniferl@bravo.ca

The Night That God Smiled - Scenes from the Scene Of The Crime writers and fan festival

Well, actually the festival took place during the day on Satruday at Wolfe Island located just off the coast of Kingston Ontario, home to some of the most notorious criminals who live in the Kingston Penetentiary, as well as the campus for Queens University, considered Canada's premier engineering univeristy.
We started off or morning, after a one hour drive from Picton, being greeted by Lyn Hamilton, one of the festivals invited authors, along with Maureen, Giles Blunt, Ed Hoch, Peter Clement, and Eric Wright whose first novel was entitled The Night The Gods Smiled, and who was to receive the Grant Allen award for fiction later in the day.The Ferry ride was a lovely scenic ride accross the bay and one thing that was apparent with all the cigar boats racing around the ferry, and a number of Golden Retrievers on board, that the events on the island were not just restricted to crime writing.
Upon arriving we were herded over to something called meet and greet where we met up with Giles Blunt, and many of the fans and guests.
Then off to the readings which took place at of all places, a church. Turns out all the events were going to take place inside two churches which given the 30 degree celcius temperatures, it was hot stuff.
Maureen read from A Journeyman to Grief, she was the last reader as all the readings were done alphabetically. Giles Blunt had said that he was fed up from reading from his latest book so he went back to an earlier novel and read from A Delicate Storm.
We heard about the Golden Retriever fest that was to take place later so I was most intrigued and decided I would go over and shoot pictures.
After lunch we all went up to Reverend Carr's Church who you see here with Giles Blunt and who also presented Eric Wright with his Grant Allen award for his body of work.A local artist created the book you see out of a box which was hollowed out and had a Kaleidescope inside, apparently something Grant Allen enjoyed. Grant Allen by the way lived in the area back in the early 1900's and was a great pal of Arthur Conan Doyle, the award was started 6 years ago along with the festival to celebrate the career of a Canadian writer who has made an outstanding contribution to Canadian Crime Fiction over the past twenty years, or more. Past winners have been Howard Engel, William Deverill, James Powell, and Eric this year.
I skipped the afternoon panel so I could see the dogs and ran into a Blood Hound name Sherlock who was a fish out of water so to speak at the Golden fest, but really he could have come over to the crime fest and fit right in. We had dinner, and then caught the ferry home, all in all a great day.
More on the festival tomorrow.

Enter this contest http://www.mysterybooks.ca to win a complete Maureen Jennings Library

Go to

http://www.mysterybooks.ca

and follow all instructions, they are giving away three complete libaries of Maureen's books and this ad was in the Toronto Globe and Mail book review section yesterday. We had no idea so it was a great surprise to see a 1/2 page ad in the Book review.

Love these three - Flowers from Donald and Anne's Garden

Tomorrow we are off to the Wolfe Island writers fest. We get up early, go over to the "Glenora Ferry" @ 7 am, then drive through Kington Ontario, pick up the Wolfe Island Ferry, and stay on Wolfe Island all day til after supper. Then reverse the process and come back to the cottage. Fortunately our friend and actress Joanna Swan is coming up today with her dog, so she is going to babysit all day tomorrow for us. Little does she know tha she will be modeling for me tonight at sunset. That should be fun as she has modeled for me in the past. Long blond curly locks and lots of them.
I cannot tell you how relaxed we are, everybody should take this kind of holiday once per year. You start to feel this blissful peace and wonder why we live such stressed out lives the rest of the year. Cannot be healthy.
Maureen is starting on the re-write today of the K Handshape. It is daunting as the manuscript is this big fat pile of papers. But she has written eight novels not including this one so she knows what to do.
On Monday the crew goes back to work on the series. It's like this, Yannick and the entire production team work 14 hour days x 5 days, most of the other actors work a lot fewer hours and fewer days. Two more months of this kind of schedule to finish season one. Then it is on to post production which will go on until Ferbruary, publcicty, then broadcast. Then next season. It's good to stay fit if you can.

Another sunset for you

I am writing to you from a cafe in Picton. We just had lunch with Donald and Ann Adams who are friends of ours and live in . . Brighton Ontario by the lake. Don was in both the Birmigham UK constabualry and The Toronto Police force in his career and is now retired. They are both huge mystery fans and Don and Maureen have had a nice friendship that was created from his reading her books and noticing that Maureen and he were from the same place. He is really from Scotland originally and got a job on the force in Birmingham, they moved to Toronto in the 1970's.
A couple more sunset shots for you. Oh, we heard from Shaftesbury Films yesterday and they were wondering about the progress of Maureen's new book, The K Handshapre, in the Christine series. Looks like they are going to develop that series sooner than we thought, can you believe that Maureen is lucky enough to have two television series in the can????????????? Amazing.

Socks and Underwear???????

Well, I was sitting on the deck and realized that I needed some clothing accessories and where else to go but into Picton over to Steadmans and purchase them. I mean what else do you do after going for a long walk in the am with the wife and our two dogs, then back to the cottage, then go for a run, then a swim, eat lunch, work on a few more photos and then make a decision to go on a shopping spree. So I decided to check onto the web at the library which is right accross the street from . . . . the socks and underwear store.
Ahh, many more great reviews are coming into Maureen's web mail for "Journeyman" and thanks for all who have posted their enjoyment of that book.
We will have to wait for another year to see a new Murdoch, but at least you will have the tv series to enjoy while Maureen writes the next Murdoch. Thank God he finally found true love and happiness eh?? Or did he?? . . . . Only the author knows.
Oh you know what is completely amazing??? When I read the scripts the writers send over I see all the actors who play the principal characters in my head as I read. I wonder if that will be the case when Maureen writes the next Murdoch novel. Probably as I see YB as Detecttive Murdoch after seeing the first two cuts. He has taken over the character, so in my mind that is who I see. Funny how that works.
Oh, I forgot, that is my new biz card. The lake is the backdrop.

California Sunlight . . . Sweet Calcutta Rain . . . Honolulu Starbright . . . The Song Remains the Same

Did you know I am a huge Led Zeppelin fan? The first time I saw them in concert was 1969 at the Masonic Temple in Toronto, formerly known as the Rockpile. Now there are rumours they may reform next year. I've heard it before, but if so, those of us who love their music will make the pilgramage to wherever they play to see them perhaps for the last time. The photos I am posting from Prince Edward County made me think of the words from the song I use as the title of the post.
In the meantime, the scriptwriters are working on the series this week, they do not all have a hiatus. Before we left they sent over two more episodes for Maureen to review, as they will go into "prep" when they start back next Monday. The next episodes to go into production are called "The Glass Ceiling" and "Child's Play" which deals with children at the turn of the century working in a factory in Toronto. I will say no more about that, they are both terrific episodes. But of the two scripts in prep, which form the next block after Child's Play and Glass Ceiling, one of them is to me an exceptional and unusual story. It's called Belly Speaker and deals with the return of Arthur Conan Doyle to the series as well as a character who is a ventriloquist and has a dummy. Again, I cannot give you details as this is all top secret stuff, but I will say that Belly Speaker is going to be a very unusual and interesting story that will I believe will be a riveting episode, very exciting stuff.
Back to me, I am obsessed with taking sunset shots from our deck. On Friday a friend is coming up to house sit the dogs as Maureen is a guest author at a very special writers festival over on Wolfe Island, which is a ferry ride from Kingston. I will be shooting lots of photos and giving my usual blow by blow report.
We love it here in Prince Edward County and I am riding my bike like crazy all over the county. More later and keep posting your wonderful comments. I love to hear from everybody. Thanks, be back in a few days.

Can I have some more sir??????

Anthony met us at the entrance to the Ferry and radioed over to the Island so we would be picked up and taken to the set. So with our Murdoch crew badges on we went over to the Island and were treated like the VIP's my wife so richly deserves. When we were there, Steve, one of the stills photographers was on the set and he explained to me how I could go about finding out how I can apply to get into the union if I wanted to pursue becoming a set photographer. I am going to look into it late next year when I finish three more credit courses at University. Won't be easy to do but I am going to try.
Jenny is fixing the badge to Detective Murdoch's vest and you can see the shoe(s) he wears after doffing his running shoes. The kids in the photo all had a group shot with the author when we landed back at the terminal. They were involved in a scene where they find the body of the dead rower in the river. Such wonderful young actors and they so enjoy what they do. We're all on hiatus for 10 days so I will report to you in a couple of days from Prince Edward County and Maureen is a guest author at a very special authors festival one week from tomorrow. But I will be back on the blog probably on Monday. Sorry but we all will have a nice break. Seven more episodes for them to film when we get back. The shoot goes til the end of October.